Grazie' means 'Thank You'(Prequel of 'BBG')
by NightShadow99
Summary: Three times Nico said 'Grazie' to Thalia. And on the third time, she demanded to know what it meant. The first two chapters are non-Thalico, but still a friendship/family stage. So, if you're an anti-Thalico, just read only to the second chapter, and don't read the third. (Disclaimer: I do not own any PJO characters.)
1. Grazie

**1.**

"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?" Thalia asked as she plopped down next to the ten-year-old boy. He was sitting on a rock that was overlooking the sea.

"Nothing," the boy mumbled, kicking another pebble into the water. Thalia watched the small piece of rock fall down, disappearing into the fog that covered the sea from view.

"Okay, now I've got to hear it." Thalia said, earning her an annoyed glare from the olive-skinned boy beside her. He scowled at the ground, and Thalia's curiosity grew. But she miraculously managed to keep quiet.

After an eternity, or so it seemed to Thalia-hey, she had ADHD-the young Italian finally spoke.

"My sister abandoned me for that stupid Hunt," he mumbled, and Thalia glanced up at his face. He looked unhappy, an expression that was foreign on his usually cheerful face. Thalia waited, sensing that it wasn't all he had to say. She was right, when he started speaking again a few seconds later.

"We only ha each other our whole lives, and she's the only family I have, and she left me for a group of girls she only knew for ten minutes. Did I do anything wrong?" His voice cracked at the end.

Thalia felt a twinge of sympathy. She, too, had lost her sibling, though not voluntarily, but she still had grieved. But to know that your sibling purposely chose someone she barely knew over her own brother... she could only imagine the betrayal he felt right now.

"Hey," Thalia started cautiously. She wasn't good at comforting people, but she didn't want him to feel so unhappy. The young boy glanced up, and Thalia found it hard to look away from those dark brown eyes filled with sadness.

"Since you're a demigod, your family extends to Percy, Annabeth-" she choked a little at the name of her lost friend, "-and me. I may not know you very well, but I'm still able to be part of your family, maybe a cousin even though we don't know your godly parent yet." Thalia said, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Maybe it was because she was saying those very words she had needed so badly when she had lost her baby brother, only she had no one to hear it from.

Thalia knew what it felt to lose a sibling, and she didn't want anyone to go through the same as her. He was only ten, he was too young to be feeling these things.

She resented the fact that being a demigod forced you to mature much, much faster than mortal kids their ages.

The dark-eyed boy was so silent and still, for a moment Thalia thought she had made a mistake.

"My.. my cousin?" He asked uncertainly. She nodded, smiling a bit.

"Yep, your cousin. I may never be a sister to you-that'll feel like I'm taking Bianca's place-but I can promise your that I will be your family, and stay with you through thick and thin. I can't promise you that I'll _always_ be there, but I'll be there when you need me." Thalia promised, and saw a little bit of life return to his face.

"_Grazie,__"_ he murmured so quietly that she almost didn't hear it.

"What?" She asked. "Nothing, Cousin Thalia," he said, grinning. Thalia couldn't stop the grin that broke out on her face.

* * *

**Yeah, it's been a long time since I wrote actual genuine Thalico! **

**But this isn't a Thalico yet, it's just a family love thing. And to anyone who didn't understand the time plot, it's in The Titan's Curse, where Annabeth falls off a cliff and Percy, Thalia, and the di Angelos camp for a night with the Hunters. Nico and Thalia had snuck out of camp while the others were sleeping.**

**And to my readers of the 4th book of BBG, 'Black Cats and Silver Wolves', please review quickly so I can post another chapter!**

**Read and Review!**

**~~XxThalicoRULZxX**


	2. Grazie, Thalia

**2.**

"Percy!" Nico cried out, as he saw the son of Poseidon pass out from pain and exhaustion. His heart plummeted when he felt Percy's life aura fading and flickering weakly. The daughter of Zeus was already there, propping him up so Percy wouldn't die from suffocation. Nico ran over, trying to hide his panic, but failing miserably.

Wordlessly, the Huntress beckoned him over, and Nico stumbled over a stray rock in his haste. He helped her inspect Percy's wound from the Keres, and they cleaned it, occasionally interrupted as Percy faded in and out of consciousness.

By the time they finished binding Percy's wound, Nico was covered in cold sweat, while his companion was equally drained. While they waited for their friend to wake out of his most recent faint, Nico sat down beside a smashed boulder, and she sat down at a safe distance from him, close enough to talk in whispers, yet far enough to give them each their own personal spaces.

As the silence stretched on, interrupted only by the faint rush of the River Lethe and the occasional rumble of rocks, Nico felt his ADHD acting up, and he itched to start a conversation, do something, anything besides this maddening silence.

Luckily for him, it was the silver clad demigoddess who started talking first, like last time.

"My being a Hunter, do you hate it?" She asked, and Nico was taken by surprise. He hadn't expected her to think of that, much less ask his opinion. He glanced at her,but she didn't meet his eyes, watching the distance for any signs of the Keres or any surprise attacks.

Nico chose that moment to study her, taking in her immortal self. SHe looked the same like she did the last time he saw her, which had been about two or three years ago.

He secretly envied her, of how she could just going Artemis' Hunt, become immortal and powerful, and escape the Great Prophecy just like that. She had a choice to avoid the prophecy without dying. Percy and he.. they didn't have a choice. It was either him or Percy, should the latter die, but Nico didn't want to think about it.

Nico then realized he had left the Hunter hanging. He cursed himself silently, then spoke hesitantly.

"Not really," he began, choosing his words carefully. She snapped her head around to look at him with her bright, piercing electric blue eyes. "You weren't in the Hunt when... when my sister joined, and you didn't want her to join them. You joined the Hunt so you could buy the gods and us more time to prepare. You sacrificed the chances most girls would miss not having-like dating, growing up, having a family of your own. I can't exactly hate you for that."

"Really?" She asked quietly, and Nico could detect relief in her tone, Did his opinion really matter that much to her? He didn't say anything, and just nodded.

"You know, on the quest with your sister," she paused, gauging his reaction. He didn't move, his eyes fixed on her, so she continued. "Bianca told me something she wanted to tell you, but I never got the chance to relay it, until now." The Lieutenant of the Hunters looked down briefly at her feet, shame coloring her cheeks lightly before disappearing.

"Bianca told me in a dream, just a few days after she.. got lost, that she couldn't talk to you because you were filled with too much pain, and so she couldn't approach you. Your negative emotions had kept her at bay. She had wanted me to tell you that she loved you very much, and was sorry for leaving you alone. She had believed the Camp would take good care of you, and you would be able to make new friends." She took a breath.

"Bianca thought she would be able to still check on you from time to time, since she would be immortal. Bianca regretted a lot of things, but the one thing she didn't regret, was choosing to save the others at the cost of her life."

Nico stared at his feet. He had heard those word before, but hearing them now, when he was a lot more stable and resigned, it touched him far deeply than the earlier times.

Now he was the one who was being comforted, and she was the comforter. "Um.." Nico didn't know how to quite phrase it. She looked at him curiously, and he continued, cracking a small half-smile. "You remember when we first met, when you promised to be my cousin and be there for me?"

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Of course, I didn't know how right I was, then," she joked, attempting to alleviate the atmosphere. "Most cousins aren't able to do that, but friends can. Can I consider you as a friend?" The Huntress offered, and Nico blinked in surprise.

"C'mon, you can't be cousin-zoned forever, don't you think?" She teased when Nico didn't reply. After a while, he slowly nodded. "Friends," he agreed, the smile on his face matching Thalia's.

"_Grazie, Thalia,_" he said softly, but the sounds of Percy waking up drowned out his words.

* * *

**Hooray! Another chapter!**

**This time, the time plot is in the Demigod Files, when Percy, Thalia, and Nico go on a quest for Hades' stolen sword. After the attack with Keres, Percy passes out after crossing the Lethe, and Thalia and Nico make small talk while waiting for him to recover. And if you didn't know, I made this as un-AU as possible, so Nico still has a crush on Percy at this stage.**

**{Replies to Reviews}**

**Wendy Grace\- Thanks! It was a little something I wrote when I was bored, and wanted to put it up because I haven't written Thalico for some time! Technically, BBG isn't a Thalico story, if you catch my drift.  
**

**Assualtrogue269\- It's good to hear! I've got a LOT of little oneshots, short chapter stories of Thalico sitting in my precious notebooks (I have 3), so you have a lot of stories to look out for!**

**XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX\- OMGsOMGsOMGs! I got a review from you! You're one of my favorite Thalico writers (On my profile list), and now I feel as if I got a review from a celebrity! YAY! THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! And did you know I call it as 'Thalico hunting', too? COOL!**

**Thank you for the reviews!**

**~~XxThalicoRULZxX**


	3. Grazie and Ti Amo

**3.**

"What the Hades, Nico! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Aww... is wittle Thauwia scared?"

"Shut up, Death Boy!"

"Pinecone Face is a scaredy-cat! Pinecone Face is a scaredy-cat!"

"...If I ever get my hands on you..."

"You'll have to catch me first!"

"Fuck you, di Angelo!"

"Language, Thalia!" Annabeth scolded as she attempted to break up the fight. Key word being 'attempted'.

Thalia has woken up to find her bunk suspended in the air, propped up by four skeletons. She had instantly panicked, ending up falling out of the bunk to the ground. It had been painfully obvious-literally-to Thalia that a certain son of Hades had been behind this, and now Percy and Annabeth were attempting to stop Thalia's 'Kill-Torture-Catastrate-Nico Death Mission', not necessarily in that order.

Well, Percy had originally been helping Annabeth break up the fight, but he had been K. by Thalia earlier, because Percy had been the only one who knew of Thalia's fear of heights, and the fact that Nico now knew, meant that Percy had either, 1, told Nico, or 2, helped out himself. Either way, Percy was currently recovering in the infirmary from a mysterious lightning bold that had come out of nowhere.

It had been three years since the second Giant war had ended, and six months since Thalia had left the Hunt.

It had been a surprise to everybody, and more than one camper had been curious about the reason, but all Thalia would say was "I want a peaceful life-well, as peaceful as a half-blood's life could be-now that the danger is gone."

Of course, for Percy, Annabeth, and Nico, there had been side-effects of going into Tartarus, the most common being nightmares, so it hadn't been entirely peaceful for them. Percy and Annabeth, through sharing their pain and fully understanding each other, they had recovered enough to continue living their life in peace and comfort.

Nico, however, had been doing badly, even with the support of his new friends and especially Will. With Will's help, he had managed to get most of the darkness out of himself, and soon was able to shadow-travel again without fear of dissolving into them.

But his memories of Tartarus had been seared into his mind, and his mental condition had steadily worsened, raising the concerns of his newfound friends. Nico had stopped eating again, barely slept, and the shattered-glass look haunted his eyes constantly.

But one day, when the Hunters came to camp, several campers had noted seeing Nico di Angelo eating an entire apple, albeit glaring daggers at both Will and a certain Hunter who had refused to let him leave the table until he ate.

During the Hunters' entire stay, Nico had slowly improved, and several had been convinced that it was beacuse of a certain daughter of Zeus he was more often than not spotted with. But nobody had really acknowledged the connection until Thalia had dropped out of the Hunt.

And now Thalia and Nico, or 'Thalico' as the Aphrodite kids had proudly dubbed, had been dating for two , Nico had started to heal, to wrap up his past and look for the future. His old personality, the one he had lost as a child, was poking through, and his former, bitter self was gone, replaced by a much happier and content Nico.

"Gotcha!"

"AAHHHH! She's killing me! Somebody help!"

Yep, happy and content.

Thalia smirked as she pinned Nico down on the ground, and tickled him like there was no tomorrow. He was soon breathless from laughing and trying to get away, but the daughter of Zeus was _strong_.

Thalia soon realized the rather compromising position they were in; her straddling her boyfriend, their faces merely inches apart.

As Thalia's electric blue eyes stared into Nico's pitch black eyes, he, on an impulse, reached up and pulled her face down to his, and kissed her. The familiar tingle shot through his body, and his breathing quickened considerably.

Nico pulled away, and smirked, feeling Thalia's glare at him.

"Grazie," he said, and her face changed to that of confusion.

"I heard you say that quite a bit, but what does it even mean?" Thalia asked.

She half expected to hear a "Nothing", but Nico surprised her by actually telling her. "Grazie means Thank you in Italian. I was thanking you for offering me comfort when I had been young, for setting my mind at rest, and taking me out of the hole I had been sinking into."

Thalia froze in shock, before blinking back tears and hugged him tightly. Nico brought his lips to her ears, where he could say the words he wanted.

"There's more," he said, and Thalia loosened her grip to look at him in the eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"Ti amo, Thalia," Nico whispered, and captured her lips in another breathtakingly good kiss.

* * *

**Whoo! Thalico fluff! And I don't think I need to explain what 'Ti amo' means, do I?**

**Thalia and Nico are OCC, but I believe that no Thalico is not OCC, since we're obviously not Rick Riordan.**

**Anyway, hope you liked this story, and thank you all for reviewing!**

**{Replies to Reviews}**

**saura****\- Yeah, so do I! I was worried that it might have been the end of other Thalico shippers especially when Perico and Solangelo had come! Whew, what a relief!**

**Wendy Grace****\- CUTE BOMBS! YES! Hope you loved this chapter, and the chapter after this (the epilogue), will be VERY familiar to you! **

**XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX****\- Well, you're on my profile now! AND HERE IS THE ACTUAL ROMANCE! Yeah, I hate it that Uncle Rick killed our poor Thalico-hearts when he made Thalia a Hunter and Nico gay, that's what fanfictions are for! Right? And you really make good Thalico fics, so no wonder they think you a fanfiction celebrity! What's your favorite Thalico story here?**

**Love all of you, and there is an epilogue, which will be very familiar to the ones who are fans of my BBG series(on my profile).**

**~~XxThalicoRULZxX**


	4. Officially My New Best Friend (Epilogue)

**{Epilogue}**

_**Several years later...**_

"Hey, Corpse Breath," a woman with black clothing said to the man next to her. "What?" said the man. "Do you remember that we're supposed to be meeting Kelp Head and Owl Face today?" Nico laughed. "Pinecone Face, sure I did remember. And they said they're bringing their seven-year-old boy, Alex, and their four-year-old daughter, Amy, too. I hear Alex's already quite the smart aleck."  
"They're probably from Annabeth. There's no way in Hades little Alex would have got the brains from his father. Right, Diana?" Thalia said to her six-year old daughter, who was trying to stop her twin brother, Soren, from bothering Seth, their nearly one-year old little brother. Diana smiled, a pale girl with dark hair and with a rare condition known as Heterochromia iridum, also known as odd-eye, with one electric blue eye and one black.  
She nodded distractedly as she returned her attention to her male siblings.

"Stop that!" Diana insisted as Soren, a light, almost pale, olive-skinned boy with dark midnight blue eyes, once again prodded their younger brother with his small finger. Soren didn't appear to say anything, but Diana huffed, and Soren smirked, looking exactly like his father.  
The doorbell rang, and both Thalia and Nico tripped over each other in getting to the door. Laughing, Diana watched her parents grumble as they got up, and ran lightly to the door, pushing it open.

It opened to reveal Percy, Annabeth, and Alex, who had black hair and sea-green eyes, coupled with Annabeth's intelligent spark in his eyes, and Percy's easygoing smile, with a small girl with blond curls and grey eyes like her mother peeped out from behind Alex, Amy.  
"Hi," Diana said to Alex boldly, who grinned, and stuck out his hand.  
"Alex, nice to meet you."  
"Diana." Diana took his hand and shook it.  
Thalia, Nico, Annabeth, and Percy watched, as the two children got to know each other for the first time.

* * *

_**Alternate POV epilogue**_

"Mo-o-om," A young green-eyed boy said, as he sat in the car backseat with a blond girl, who looked so much like the boy they were obviously siblings.

"What?" A woman with blond hair much like the young girl in the back, replied.

"When are we gonna get there?" The boy complained, his feet kicking in the air like a little kid.

"We're almost there, maybe around five minutes. And it's 'going to', not 'gonna', Alexander," The woman corrected, and Alexander scowled slightly.

"Alex, Mom, it's Alex!"

The woman laughed as the man beside her, who looked like an older version of the young boy, chuckled as he drove down the road.

Alex flopped back into his seat as he stared at the ceiling, the ground, outside, and at his sister.

"Aims, what are you-Ah! Mom! She's-ow!" Alex exclaimed as he struggled to get his finger out of the tight hold of his baby sister. The young girl smiled innocently, her gray eyes sparkling with laughter, as she watched her older brother complain, then released him, staring out the window as if there was nothing wrong.

Alex huffed, before tapping his fingers absently on the window in a complex pattern, his hands unable to keep still for more than a few moments.

"Mom, when are-" "We're here!" Annabeth said, already anticipating her son's half-spoken question.

He waited until he was out of the car, and a small nudge in the general direction of the two-story black house sent him running straight towards it, Amy following in his footsteps the best she could with her four-year-old legs.

The black haired boy reached up to press the doorbell, and waited for his parents to come while he heard faint collision sounds from the house.

Soon, the door was opened to reveal a pale, spiky black-haired girl.

_She's pretty. _His seven-year-old mind thought absently.

The first thing Alex noticed about her was her smile. It seemed full of mischief, fun, and laughter, and seemed to go along perfectly with her features. Then he noticed her eyes.

One side was a deep black, and the other was a bright piercing blue unlike any other blue he'd seen before. Instantly, Alex decided the blue color was one of his favorite colors from now on.

A man and a woman appeared behind her, with a young boy about the girl's age, and Alex could see a baby boy in the woman's arms.

The girl in front of him looked almost exactly like the woman, and the boy beside her looked like the man, except that he was as pale as the girl who was clearly his sister. They looked different yet so similar, with the same eye-shape, and had identical smiles.

"Hi," The girl said to Alex boldly, who grinned, and stuck out his hand.  
"I'm Alex, nice to meet you."  
"Diana." Diana took his hand and shook it.

Her hand felt intriguing, because it felt slightly cooler than his, and he swore he felt static.

"Come on in, then. No need to stay out… unless you would prefer to?" Diana's mom said, and ushered them in, placing a single hand on Alex's shoulder to guide him in. He felt the same weird static like from Diana, and noticed that Diana's bright blue eye came from her mother, who had the same piercing blue eyes.

"What's your name?" He heard her mom ask his little sister.

"Amy." Amy said, trailing after Alex, who was being led by Diana and the other boy into the second floor.

"Okay," Diana said as she opened a blue-and-black door to reveal a large room divided into two sections by a tall bookshelf in the center.

"This side is my room." Her room, the left, was in black, silver, and the same electric blue as Diana's eye, the dominant color being the blue, with the black and silver as accents. The other side was at a sharp contrast, with black, midnight blue, and grey, the main color being the black.

"Diana, you do realize," the boy beside Alex said suddenly, startling him, "that they don't even know my name?"

The boy had an accent Alex vaguely recognized as something European-maybe Italian? After all, he did remember his parents mentioning something about the dad being Italian-with a much quieter and softer tone than his sister.

"Oops, sorry. I thought you would do it yourself." Diana said, not sounding very sorry.

The boy sighed, as if he was used to his sister's behavior, and turned to address Alex and Amy.

"I'm Soren di Angelo, Diana's-" "-twin." Diana finished.

Soren studied Alex, obviously waiting for a reaction.

Alex took his time observing the two, and noted that while they acted like polar opposites, there was a resemblance, minus the fact Soren's eyes were a sapphire color, slightly lighter than the midnight blue in his room.

"Okay," Amy answered for him, and Alex hardly missed Diana and Soren's sigh of relief. He guessed that they had been expecting something different.

"What's the baby's name?" Alex asked randomly, as they walked inside Diana's section of the room.

"Seth." Soren answered, and suddenly smirked. Diana glared at him, and Soren's smirk grew, before they both glanced at Alex and Amy before dropping the silent battle.

"What just happened?" Alex said confusedly, while Amy lost interest, returning her attention to exploring Diana's room.

Diana and Soren shot wary glances at each other, before Diana said quickly, "It's nothing."

A little _too_ quickly.

Alex narrowed his eyes, determined to find out. His disbelief must have showed clearly on his face, because Diana gave Soren an accusing glare, and Soren didn't meet Alex's gaze.

They sat in silence for several minutes, which was astonishing, taking Alex's ADHD into account, but it showed that Alex was _really_ determined.

Diana quickly glanced over at Amy, who was engrossed in Diana's bracelets lying around, and apparently deemed it safe, because she beckoned Alex over.

Alex scooted over, and Diana paused for a moment before whispering in a not-so quiet voice, "Can you keep a secret?"

Alex nodded, not making any sound to alert his sister.

Diana started to say something, before Soren sighed impatiently, pushing Diana away softly, and leaned over, saying in a much quieter and lower voice than Diana, "We can read each other's minds,"

Alex's eyes widened. "Like a mind reader? Can you read mine, too?" He whispered, and Diana shook her head.

"Only each other's," Soren said for Diana, his voice so low that Alex had to really concentrate to hear.

"Cool," Alex breathed, and Diana looked relieved. "So you don't think we're freaks?"

Alex shook his head emphatically.

"No, I don't."

"Thanks. You're officially my new best friend now."

"I thought I was your best friend?"

"Sorry, 'Ren, Alex's my best friend now."

"Hey!"

* * *

(**I added these collection of oneshots to compensate!**)

* * *

*Before Diana and Soren met Alex*

"I'm Diana di Angelo, and I like bright blue. I love exploring, and Mommy says I'm reckless, but I don't know what that means! I'm braver than Soren!" Diana said proudly.

Ms. Summers, their kindergarten teacher, blinked. "Who's Soren? Your friend?"

"Me," a voice said from the back, a young boy standing up. Ms. Summers looked over to see an Italian boy-or someone with Italian heiritage. He had the general features, but his skin was pale, not olive like most Mediterraneans, with eyes an odd blue hard to describe, the closest being 'sapphire'.

"And you're Diana's.." "Younger brother!", "Twins," Diana and Soren said at the same time.

"And I'm not a scaredy-cat!" Soren snapped suddenly, and Diana smirked, which looked odd on such a young face.

"Yes, you are," she said in a sing-song voice, still smirking.

"Just because I wanted to explore the cellar instead of the attic doesn't mean I'm scared!" Soren said defensively.

"I wasn't talking about that! You were too scared to jump!" Diana taunted, rather enjoying the way the other childrens' eyes went back and forth between their arguement.

"Yeah, from the attic!" Soren snapped, and Ms. Summers' eyes widened in shock and surprise.

Diana shrugged non-chalantly. "I did it, didn't I?"

"When?" A boy interrupted curiously. He shrank back slightly from her unnerving eyes when she glanced at him. "Yesterday," she said calmly.

Ms. Summers was now really creeped out. What kind of normal kid jumped from attics for fun? When did kids prefer cellars over attics?

"And this attic," Ms. Summers said slowly, "how high is it?"

Diana thought for a moment, while Soren squeezed his eyes shut as if he didn't want to remember it.

"The attic is over my room... so third floor," Diana guessed, crossing her arms.

Ms. Summers decided to not ask anymore questions.

* * *

*Sixth Grade class*

"Today, class 506, we're going to have a new student," Ms. Reynolds said. Ms. Reynolds, in Diana's opinion, was an old-school teacher who only favored straight A students, and somehow always managed to 'favor' the students Diana hated most.

Instantly, whispers started to break out, growing louder and louder.

"Who do you think the newbie is?"

"I hope it's a hot boy,"

"I think I saw him in the principal's office this morning!"

'_New student alert, 'Ren. Any idea who?'_ Diana asked lazily as she doodled absently on her English assignment which made no sense to her.

'_How would I know?'_ Soren sighed, and Diana sneaked a glance sideways to see Soren across the classroom, his dark blue eyes equally bored as he glanced at the clock.

"Silence!" Ms. Reynolds snapped, rapping her desk for order. The class went silent, but not without a few mutters and whispers here and there.

"The new student will-"

Diana tuned out her voice, busy writing Greek letters on top of the English passages, writing names.

_Αρτέμις-_ Her name in Greek. Technically, it means 'Artemis', but that had been the translation Google had offered her.

_Σορεν_\- Not translated into Greek, but merely changing the English alphabet for the Greek ones. Soren.

_Αλέξανδρος._... Alexander. Which also happened to be the name of her best friend, though he preferred to be called Alex. And who she hadn't seen since summer vacation ended, since they went to different states, her being in Pennsylvania and he being in New York. Stupid distance.

She was interrupted when the front door opened so fast it nearly banged into the wall, as someone came in.

"Would you like to introduce yourself to the class, Mr.." "Jackson." A way too familiar voice supplied, and Diana jerked her head up, meeting Soren's equally surprised eyes. '_Did you know?' _

_'If I did, you would have known, wouldn't you?' _

_'Good point,'_ Diana admitted. Her eyes soon made out the black hair, bright sea-green eyes, tan skin, and his playful yet slightly sheepish grin. And of course he was wearing his trademark blue hoodie.

"Sorry for being late, but I got a little lost," Alex admitted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Diana saw a few girls sigh dreamily, and she swore one swooned, and Diana had to fight back a snort.

"I'm Alexander Jackson, but I prefer Alex. I transferred here from New York, because my parents wanted to go somewhere new, and see new sights, plus architecture," Alex said, smiling a little. "You see, my mom's an architect. I like water sports, especially swimming, and I like reading books,"

"Athletic _and_ smart. Perfect," Someone whispered, and others giggled.

"Thank you. Ms. Sanders, you will be showing Mr. Jackson around the school today, and answer his questions. Mr. Jackson, please take the empty seat next to Ms. Sanders," Ms. Reynolds said, and Diana groaned inwardly. Of course it had to be _her_.

Coral Sanders, the top of the class-though Diana was sure Alex would soon replace her, a cheerleader, a member of the student council, and popular. Or, as Diana preferred to abbreviate it as, a prep with a Queen Bee attitude.

Coral lifted her hand, shooting a smug look at all the other girls who slumped in their seats. Alex started to walk towards his designated seat, when Diana had an idea.

He didn't appear to have noticed her yet, so Diana decided to have a little fun. She quickly turned her head away and pulled up the hood on her own black hoodie over her head, so her tell-tale eyes and the silver dyed streak in her hair was hidden from view, and waited. In order for her best friend to get to his seat, he'd have to pass her.

'_Really, Diana?'_ Soren rolled his eyes.

_'C'mon, I can't resist!'_

Diana smirked, sticking her legs out to block the aisle. She kept her head down, and waited until she heard his footsteps pause.

"Umm... can I get past?" Alex asked politely, and Diana's smirk grew wider.

"Yeah, di Angelo. Shove off, he's mine," Coral hissed quietly from behind her, so quiet that only she could hear. But Diana ignored her, fighting back the laughter that was bubbling in her chest. It was so funny.

"Password," Diana said, pitching her voice lower than normal, which was a piece of cake since she'd spent years doing prank calls with her brother and Alex.

"Err.. please?" Alex tried, his voice slightly uncomfortable as the whispers started up again, wondering why the new kid was still standing there. Ms. Reynolds narrowed her eyes, which meant Diana had to finish this prank, and fast.

"Wrong. It's too cliché, and you know I hate clichés. And I'm hurt, I really am," Diana said, making her voice sound close to tears.

"Why?" Alex asked slightly concerned. Diana swore she felt a rib break because of the contained silent laughter which made her shoulders shake slightly, which Alex probably thought she was crying.

"Y-you of all people should know my password, Rex. Either I m-must've thought wrong, or you're not Alex," Diana said, her voice now slightly shaky and fast-nearing hysteria.

"Your pass-Wait. Did you just call me Rex?" Alex said in surprise. Diana finally let out her laughter, lifting her hood away from her head as she lifted her face up to look at him in the eyes.

"Yup, in the flesh! Welcome to my school, Ocean Boy. And the password?" Diana said, and Alex grinned confidently.

"Jinxxed4life,"

"Excellent! And just so you know, I'm so going to kill you for keeping this a secret from me,"

"You're busted, Jackson," Soren snickered from the other side of the classroom.

"I'm so dead."

"Yep, you are!" Diana agreed cheerfully.

* * *

**Yeah, I know 'Thalia Goes to Goode High' used to be BBG's prequel, but I noticed that the book's general plot clashes with BBG's plot, since my characters usually reference their parents' quests A LOT, but in 'Thalia Goes to Goode High', the original characters (a.k.a Percabeth&amp;Thalico) meet in a completely different way, so much different that it's AU. And BBG doesn't live in an AU universe.**

**Hope you all understand, and for those who've never read BBG, please start reading my series!**

**And as for the password thing, my favorite band is Black Veil Brides, and my fav member is Ashley Purdy, Andy Biersack and Jinxx! Andy comes as a tie with Ashley. But I couldn't imagine Diana being a Purdy Girl nor an Andy fangirl, so Jinxxed4life it is! Any other BVB Army members out there?**

**Thank you for being so understanding, and no, I haven't deleted 'Thalia Goes to Goode High'!**

**{Replies to Reviews}**

**Wendy Grace****\- I nearly died laughing! And how do you like these new oneshots? I wrote them at school when I had been bored!**

**CluCluPerliaLover4Ever****\- Awwww... A big THANK YOU! I try my best, and although I'm still inadequate compared to the power-writers like RavenShadowTempestHunter, I'm working on my ability to write better! And if you like Perlia, I hope you'll like BBG-unless you don't like pure O.C only stories-because it's basically Diana/Alex-or Dialex, as I like to call them-and their personalities are basically Thalia and Percy, well, an intelligent Percy. I'm really happy you enjoyed my story, even if you're not a Thalico shipper! I know it feels weird to like ships that clash, like how I LOVE Thalico, and support minor Solangelo, and Perico.**

**XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX****\- Prego!(Italian for 'you're welcome') And grazie for wanting to show this to your friends! And I've read all of the Thalico stories you mentioned, and I really loved it! It's really cool how we like the same stories! Did you read-I bet you did, though-RavenTempestShadowHunter's Roses On Your Grave, Lightning-AND'Death's I'll Be There To Catch You, and Dear Thalia by musicmidnight. And, if you count the incomplete favorites, it's *cough*The Spirits of Home*cough* Sounds familiar?**

**stars15963****\- Okay! All you have to do, is check my profile! There, is a listing of my favorite Thalico writers, and also the best! And, if you want, you can read my oneshots, but I still think the writers on my 'Favorite Thalico Writers' list are much, _much_ better!**

**P.S _S_omeone, please review_ Black Cats and Silver Wolves_, which is the current book I'm writing on my BBG series! I only need one review left on that story to update!_  
_**

**~~XxThalicoRULZxX**


	5. Bonus Oneshot, Reply to TamadhurOfHarad

**Hey, everybody!**

**Just wanted to reply to **TamadhurOfHarad, **'cause TamadhurOfHarad's PMing is disabled.**

**TamadhurOfHarad- Yes, there's more about Diana, Soren, and Alex! Their story is actually the BBG series, and 'Grazie' means 'Thank You' is actually a prequel.**

**There's '**Black, Blue, and Green(Book 2 of 'BBG')'** (Diana and Alex POV)- ** s/9708771/1/Black-Blue-and-Green-Book-2-of-BBG

Fingers Crossed(Book 3 of 'BBG') **(Diana and Alex POV)- ** s/10094808/1/Fingers-Crossed-Book-3-of-BBG

Black Cats and Silver Wolves (Book 4 of 'BBG') **(Soren and Leila POV)- ** s/10605264/1/Black-Cats-and-Silver-Wolves-Book-4-of-BBG

**'Black Cats and Silver Wolves' (or BCSW for short) is what I'm currently updating now, and there will be one last book in the BBG series after BCSW.**

**And since the links come out broken, all you have to do is just go to my profile and check out my stories!**

**So I hope you read this message, and thanks for loving this story!**

**~~XxThalicoRULZxX**

* * *

PS. This is to make sure doesn't kill me for posting an 'only author note' chapter. It's the same oneshot I updated in BCSW, btw.

It has Thalico, Percabeth, friendship Dialex, and Coren!

**Merry Christmas, everybody! ****This takes place before 'Black, Blue, and Green', and when Cody was alive. Welcome to your first official glance of Cody!**

* * *

_'Hey, 'Ren! Is your boyfriend coming over for Christmas?'_ Diana had barely finished her sentence when Alex began to scream bloody murder from somewhere in her house.

"Shut up, Rex!" Diana said, straightened up from practicing her aerial cartwheels from their front yard, to see one of the second-floor windows opened.

'_Yeah, and if you even mention any... innuendos again while he's here-like last time, your dear old friend Alex is going to suddenly learn how to fly.'_ Soren said dryly, and Diana headed towards her house, her pace quick and worried.

_'Aww, Ren, you take the fun out of _everything_! Besides, he's cute when he's all flustered and stammering,' _Diana protested weakly as she raced up the stairs two at a time, heading towards the cold breeze wafting from the open door of their room.

'_Don't you dare make a move on my boyfriend, or Alex will be the one who gets it, seeing that threats on your own life doesn't faze you.__' _As if to support Soren's statement, the screams abruptly cut off._  
_

Diana burst into Soren's side of their room, expecting the worst... and saw Soren standing in front of a cowering Alex in the corner, whose face was paper-white with terror, staring at something Diana couldn't quite see.

Soren glanced once over his shoulder to see her, before shifting slightly, and Alex turned ashen, his sea-green eyes darting from her to whatever Soren was doing.

Diana relaxed, even snickering a little as she picked up on her twin's thoughts, and put two and two together.

"Aw, man. Rex, you're still scared of a little spider?" She teased, not making any attempt to rescue her best friend from an on-coming panic attack.

"It's not just a little spider, it's a _Pholcus phalangioides_, also known as the skull spider due to its cephalothorax looking like a human skull, a spider of the Pholcidae family!" Alex managed to hiss out, at the same time trying to wedge himself closer against the wall, not that it was possible.

"Skull spider? Cool." Soren said non-chalantly, inspecting the spider in his palm more closely before showing it to Alex again.

"You're obviously not scared enough, seeing that you're able to sprout some scientific-y information we can't even understand." Soren said, and Diana winced when she saw Alex on the verge of passing out.

"Ren, leave Alex alone. Fine, I won't say anything," she sighed, and Soren shrugged, brushing the spider out of his palm out the open window, and walked out, leaving Alex trembling like a leaf in a storm.

As soon as Soren was out of the room, Diana cautiously took a step towards Alex, whose eyes were still wide and panicked from leftover adrenaline.

"The spider's gone, everything's okay," Diana soothed, and suddenly Alex rushed over to her, wrapping her in a tight embrace, still shaking slightly.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou_thankyou_," Alex breathed out in a rush, and Diana laughed, rubbing his back awkwardly.

Alex was the first one to break away after a few moments, his cheeks a little flushed with embarrassment.

"Gods, have I ever mentioned that I love you?"

"Yeah, love ya too," Diana said, ruffling his hair affectionately. Alex ducked away, as it was winter, Diana's unusual tendency for static shocks sparked a little more painfully than usual, and his hair stood on end.

'_Di, if Rex is finished with his little meltdown over there, both of you come down, Mom and Annabeth are demanding help, and Dad and Percy are trying to get out of it,' _Soren said, and Diana smiled._  
_

"Ren just told me to get both of our butts downstairs to help with the preparations, 'cause your and my dad are trying to get out of it," she said, and Alex laughed, before following her out of Soren's room.

Downstairs, Diana and Alex were able to catch the last part of Alex's mom's lecture.

"-get up and help your daughter and Seth with the decorations!" Annabeth said, and Percy meekly got up from his place on the couch, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Jeez, Wise Girl," Percy started to say, but wisely shut up when Annabeth's glare intensified.

Alex snickered from beside Diana, but his grin faded quickly when his mom stared at him with her calculating gray eyes, as if she was trying to figure out a dozen ways to give him chores for the Christmas decoration.

"Alex, why don't you help Nico in the kitchen? Thalia's having a little trouble with the, ah... cooking."

Alex hardly needed to be told twice as he darted off, leaving Diana stranded in the middle of the busy living room.

"Thalia!"

She spun around just in time to see her dad wince as her mom accidentally set off the fire alarm.

The piercing ring made everybody jump, and Diana saw Alex dash over to turn it off, fiddling with a bunch of wires before it calmed down. Alex sighed with relief, turning around to face the others.

"Everything's-" BRRIINGGG!

He sighed as the alarm set off again, and was about to try again, when Thalia went over, and deftly pulled out the entire alarm from it's place.

The sound died down, and Diana saw Soren roll his eyes from where he was-struggling to put up the decorations.

"There. Now everybody back to work!" Annabeth cut in, and soon the area became as busy as before.

"Diana, why don't you help Soren with the decor?" Nico suggested, and she nodded before striding over to her brother, where he was trying to decide if the tinsel was supposed to be on the ceiling or the doorway.

"Doorway," Diana said, and Soren glanced at her before sticking the tinsel in the correct place.

'_Remember-'_

_'Yeah, yeah, no innuendos of any sort.'_

_'Right. I want you to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible.'_

_'Huh, as if that was something I could control,'_ Diana snorted, and Soren shook his head exasperatedly.

* * *

"Why isn't this damn thing standing still?" Percy said, annoyed, as the plastic-and extraordinarily heavy, at least according to Percy-pine tree kept falling over and over again, repeatedly hitting Percy, Diana, Amy, and an unsuspecting Seth, Thalia nearly murdering him for that.

Soren nearly got his eye taken out when Percy lost grip of the plastic, and he leaped away so fast he got whiplash, and stared warily at Alex's klutz of a dad.

"Maybe we should just make Thalia stand there and hang the ornaments on her?" Nico suggested, stifling a laugh as Thalia glared at him, while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Sh-" "Thalia! The children are watching!" Annabeth chided, and Thalia sighed, shooting her husband a glare that bled retribution. "-ut up," Thalia finished.

"Yeah, and 'the children' are wondering why in the world is Percy forgetting to attach the tree to the tripod stand," Diana piped up, and Alex snickered at his dad's flustered expression.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth sighed exasperatedly, and Nico looked as if he was enjoying this way too much as Percy muttered something intelligible under his breath, and took the tripod Alex handed over.

"Do you live like this everyday?" Seth asked Alex in a stage-y whisper that carried, and Diana finally lost it, laughing so hard she doubled over, Soren smirking quietly with his hand over his mouth.

"Nah, sometimes, it's even worse, and Mommy scolds Daddy!" Amy chirped up, and Percy shot a betrayed glance at his daughter, while Thalia smiled smugly.

"Amy!" Annabeth said, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Why? It's true!" Amy insisted without missing a beat, and Percy threw his hands up in the air saying, "I give up!"

For a few minutes, Annabeth and Thalia actually managed to get them all working again, Thalia 'attempting' to help cook in the kitchen with Nico, while Annabeth oversaw the kids decorate the tree with Percy handling all of the hard parts.

Of course, this happy, bustling kind of peace only lasted for a record of exactly 5 minutes and 32 seconds.

"Seth, wait-" Snap! Bang! Crash!

"Ow!"

"Ouch!" Seth and Amy cried in unison as the hanging decorative snowflakes on the ceiling fell, bouncing off their heads before falling to the ground, where Seth accidentally stepped on the sharp edges, resulting in him crying out.

"Seth! Amy! Are you okay?" Annabeth and Diana asked simultaneously, alarmed, and Amy nodded, while Seth sniffled, then rubbed his eyes, standing back up with Diana's help.

Alex, in the meanwhile, was busy helping his dad wrap long pieces of red, green, blue-his dad insisted-and silver tinsel around the tree, careful not to touch the rest of the ornaments already hanging on the tree.

At first, they had attempted using popcorn as ornaments, but after two-thirds of the people in the room had tried to nick some of the delicious fluffy goodness, Annabeth had abandoned the idea, letting the children eat the rest of the popcorn.

However, Alex had been so focused on not touching any of the fragile ornaments, that he hadn't been paying much attention to where the rest of the tinsel was, and only Diana's surprised yelp brought him back to the present.

"Why the he-" Diana caught Soren's disapproving glance,"-eck am I wrapped in tinsel? ALEX!"

The trailing tinsel had gotten caught in Diana's foot as well as her bracelet, and when she tried to move, the entire tree creaked, freezing her in place.

"Alex, help me, or I'm going to buy myself a tarantula this Christmas!" Diana snapped, not daring to move an inch in any direction, and Alex and Annabeth went pale at the same time, while Percy laughed at his wife's and son's expression.

_'Nice threat. I'm happy to help, of course,'_ Soren put in helpfully, and was nearly shoved to the ground in Alex's haste to get to his best friend entangled in the pine tree.

"Nononononono _no_ _spiders,_" Alex kept mumbling as he struggled with the tinsel, and Percy finally helped after seeing Annabeth's death glare aimed at him.

"Like mother, like son," Percy chuckled, then jumped as there was a large crash and a dull sound of an explosion from the kitchen.

"Thalia di Angelo!" Nico snapped, and Thalia huffed.

"Hey, it isn't my fault that the potatoes suddenly decided to spontaneously explode,"

"How can potatoes decide what to do or not? They don't have minds!"

"Really, how do you even know? You're not a potato!"

"Of course I'm not a potato!"

"It feels like it! You have the _IQ_ of a potato!"

"No, I don't! Potatoes don't even _have_ IQs!"

"My point exactly."

"What?"

"Di," Alex whispered to Diana, "I feel sorry for you,"

'_I agree with Rex's statement, only that I feel sorry for myself, too.'_

_'I know. Poor Seth, too.'_

* * *

Ring!

Soren, who had been jumpy and nervous all evening, instantly shot up from his place near the door, and fumbled with the latches a little bit before opening the door wide, letting in a boy with dark hair and light green eyes.

"Wow," Cody breathed out, before looking directly at Soren. "Merry Christmas," he said softly, and Diana, from her 'inconspicuous' place on the sofa, could hardly miss the faint blush on her brother's face.

'_Ren, are you really_ blushing?'

_'Shut up, Di.'_ Soren snapped without his face expression changing.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Soren said, letting Cody in, trying to ignore the muffled snickers of Diana and Alex in the corner.

He was lucky that his parents had decided to retreat to the second floor with Seth and Amy, on their unerring logic that Soren and Cody could hardly do anything wrong with Diana screaming "PDA!" at any possible moment, and 'sensible' Alex watching them.

Soren's cheeks still flamed when he recalled Diana remarking that "Even if you made an 'oopsies' with Cody, two can't become three, anyway."

Trust his twin sister to make him feel embarrassed at every chance she got. He briefly wondered if it was a life goal of hers, or something.

"Hey, guys," Cody greeted the other two amiably, and Alex grinned, while Diana waved cheerily. "Hi, Cody," Alex said, and Cody smiled, returning his attention to Soren, who was still standing.

'_Oh, don't mind us, we're just part of the decor,'_ Diana added silently, and Soren sighed, before taking a step back to let Cody take his place on the living room floor.

"Soooo," Cody started, dragging out the word. Soren tried to not notice Diana leaning ever-so closer, straining to hear every word while Alex tried to get Diana's attention back on their video game, where Diana was rapidly losing by a hundred points or so as she died repeatedly.

"Presents first, or a snowball fight?" Cody asked, his bright green eyes sparkling, and Soren felt small butterflies in his stomach at seeing his smile.

"Umm... snowball fight!" Soren said, and Cody grinned, already getting back up and heading out the door.

"Hurry up, Ren!" Cody called out mischievously as Soren tugged on his winter coat and when he turned around to face his boyfriend, he was surprised by a cold blast of snow right in the face.

"Hey!" Soren protested as Cody laughed, escaping quickly through the door, leaving Soren to run after him shouting retribution.

The winter air was cold, and the snow falling around them kept getting into his eyes and hair, but Soren didn't care, chasing after the boy in front of him while throwing snowballs that exploded into a powdery burst of snow wherever they hit.

Soren rounded the corner of his house, and stopped, blinking in confusion. Cody was nowhere in sight, and the footprints were hard to make out because the falling snow covered them.

"Cody?" He called out tentatively, and was about to head on forward. "Gotcha," somebody whispered in his ear, and Soren whirled around to see Cody smiling.

At first, he didn't understand, but Cody pointed up, and Soren saw the dreaded-yet-somewhat-anticipated-but-not-that-he'd-ever-mention-it plant, mistletoe.

"You know what people do under mistletoe?" Cody said, and Soren hoped that his face wasn't red as he thought it was.

"Ye-" Soren was cut off by Cody's lips pressing down gently on his as he took his hands, and his eyes fluttered shut of their own accord.

He didn't quite know how exactly long they were in that position, but it ended all too fast for his liking when Cody pulled away, his eyes glowing.

And the moment was broken a few seconds later when Cody suddenly smirked, and tossed a snowball that came out of nowhere.

Soren ducked, his quick reflexes saving him, and retaliated, getting a bull's-eye on Cody's face, then skittered away, laughing all the while.

Cody barely paused to shake most of the snow off of his face before charging, and Soren yelped with surprise as they both went down as Soren accidentally slipped on the icy ground.

They wrestled briefly for a while, snow flying everywhere and getting into Soren's shoes, before he managed to wiggle away and jump up, looking like a human-size snowman.

Cody was about to aim another hastily made snowball, when Diana called out, "If you don't come in here in thirty seconds, Alex and I are going to eat all the _blue_ cookies and hot chocolate! Did I mention there were _marshmallows,_ too?"

They instantly stopped, looking at each other for a moment before racing each other to get to the door first, laughing breathlessly.

* * *

"What's this?" Soren questioned as he tore open the second small package, not paying heed to the wrappings that fell on the ground.

Cody just smiled, gesturing at him to open the present. Diana and Alex watched, intrigued, from behind, as Soren opened the box, putting aside his first present, a new Pierce The Veil album CD.

It was a small amber charm in the shape of a teardrop, that had a dark blue colored four leaf clover in the middle.

When Soren looked at Cody questioningly, Cody blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I knew Alex always gave Diana a charm for every special occasion, and got the idea from him. Besides, it hardly cost anything compared to what you gave me," he explained, and Alex grinned proudly.

"Amber and dark blue... your and my favorite color, right?" Soren guessed, not mentioning the fact that he had no charm bracelet or anything to put it on.

"Yep! And I know you don't have a charm bracelet. It's just a little trinket you can keep somewhere else," Cody said as if he had read Soren's mind.

'_Ooh, thoughtful. He's a keeper, Ren,'_ Diana added helpfully, and Soren fought to keep the blush off of his cheeks.

"Thanks, do you like your present? Diana and Alex helped me pick it out," he said cautiously, and Cody grinned widely, holding up the black and neon green headphones.

"Absolutely love it. You're the best, Ren." Cody decided, hanging it around his neck. Diana was in the meanwhile struggling to fasten her own charm Alex gave her, to her charm bracelet, while Alex was admiring the skateboard Soren and Diana had both gotten for him.

Soren and Diana themselves had long since bought each other band merchandise, Diana leaning more on the accessories side while Soren lingered on the more practical band T-shirts.

"Anybody up for a round of Guitar Hero with me and Alex?" Diana piped up, and Cody and Soren exchanged glances.

"Oh, you're so on, Di,"


End file.
